Eureka! Institutional Repository

Abstract The aim of the current research is to investigate if refugees students have a negative impact on Greek school context and how people who has close contact with them deals with it. The sample was in total 52 people who are Head teachers, school directors, teachers, representatives of local community and PTA and some students from the island of Lesbos. The data were collected via semi- structured interviews and questionnaires and their analysis conducted according to Content Analysis. The results have shown that the Head teachers, the school directors and the teachers face many difficulties in communicating with refugees as there are not many cultural mediators to support them. Moreover, other significant problems are Greek parents’ backlash and the delays on teachers’ hiring at schools. On the other hand, Greek parents and local community express fears about education’s degradation and public health. The students declare that there is no problem with their refugees’ classmates and they speak each other using the Greek or the English language. The participants of the research suggest an integrated management from the government. This suggestion includes recruits specialists in time, teachers’ trainings and raise awareness about the advantages of intercultural education.